Setting Cache and Renders Format

Set the default media format for your project under the Cache and Renders tab.

When rendering, media is rendered to the format specified in the Cache and Renders tab.

When importing media with Cache Source Media enabled, the media is transcoded to the format specified in the Cache and Renders tab. Media imported with Cache Source Media disabled is not transcoded and keeps its original format.

To set the Cache and Renders format:

1. Click the Cache and Renders tab.
2. Select the media format from the Cache and Renders Preferred Format box.

Note: Preferred formats are all available in RAW and non-RAW flavours. The difference between the two flavours is the presence or absence of OpenEXR as an alternate format: RAW flavours have only DPX and RAW, non-RAW ones have DPX, OpenEXR, and RAW. As a rule of thumb, use the RAW flavours, unless you are planning on exporting material as OpenEXR using linked publish, in which case you should the but the non-RAW flavours.

If you plan on using interlaced material in your project, avoid the DNxHD 36 and DNxHD 440 intermediates. They do not support interlaced material, and any interlaced frame will be stored using one of the Alternate Formats, negating any space-saving advantage coming from using a compressed intermediate format. The other formats support both interlaced and progressive material.

Format Restriction:	Description:
Maximum Width	Displays the maximum width of a frame for it to use the Preferred Format. A frame wider than this is written using one of the Alternate Formats.
Maximum Height	Displays the maximum height of a frame for it to use the Preferred Format. Any frame bigger than this is written using one of the Alternate Formats.
Depths	Displays the maximum bit depth of a frame for it to use the Preferred Format. Any frame at a bit depth higher than this is written using one of the Alternate Formats.
Alternate Formats	Displays the fallback formats used to write frames that do not fit within the parameters defined by Maximum Width, Maximum Height, and Maximum Bit Depth. The application follows a specific fallback strategy, based on the bit depth of the frame and the displayed formats: DPX, OpenEXR, RAW: DPX for 8-, 10-, and 12-bit frames. OpenEXR for 16-bit floating point frames, RAW for 12-bit packed ones. DPX, RAW: DPX for 8-, 10-, and 12-bit frames. RAW for 12-bit packed, 16-bit floating point, and higher. Note that 12-bit packed frames are always stored as RAW.